The streets of Havana became a runway as Chanel debuted its Cruise 2017 collectionIBTimes UK

Karl Lagerfeld is the latest fashion designer to look to Cuba for inspiration, debuting Chanel's Cruise 2017 collection in Havana in a dazzling runway extravaganza. The Chanel show is a first for Latin America and took place on Havana's Paseo del Prado, a leafy promenade lined with marble benches, ornate street lamps and bronze lions that leads down to the Caribbean seashore.

With the setting harking back to Cuba's golden era, the muted colours, hats and understated romance of the Chanel collection were a good fit for the Havana backdrop. By showcasing its Cruise collection in Cuba, Chanel said it was harking back to the roots of the line originally designed for wealthy Americans holidaying on yachts and cruises in the Caribbean to escape the winter grey.

Lagerfeld, who has been at Chanel's creative helm since 1983, has said his latest inter-seasonal Cruise collection was inspired by the "cultural richness and opening up of Cuba."

Cuba is fast becoming one of the world's most fashionable destinations, as tourists and the style elite seek to savour faded glamour and Caribbean flair before it changes too much.